After months of rumors, Akai Professional just announced the newest addition to the iconic MPC line, the MPC X, and in our opinion this new flagship standalone model ticks all the boxes for both MPC fans and professional producers.
In creating the X, it looks like Akai engineers have taken the lessons from every MPC that preceded it to design a production centerpiece truly fit to be the production center of any setup. In the past few years, Akai seemed to struggle to keep with its heritage, but with the new MPC X (and its little brother, the MPC Live) the Japanese company seems back on the right path.
Touch & Feel
The new MPC X is a standalone MPC featuring a full-colour 10.1” multi-touch screen and 16 responsive, velocity- and pressure-sensitive RGB pads – all fuelled by a multicore processor surgically tuned to power MPC Software 2.0.
Rounding out the controls are dedicated menu buttons, a large master encoder knob and 16 touch-sensitive 360º assignable pots (Q-Links) with adaptive OLED displays, perfect for viewing and precisely automating individual parameters to deliver expressively nuanced recordings.
With MPC X the tactile ease-of-use found on smartphones and tablets combines with full-featured production functionality for an unleashed creative experience – launch clips with real-time time-stretching; grab, pinch & edit waveforms; program the step sequencer; record, sequence & edit audio/MIDI; apply XY FX and much more directly from MPC X’s 10.1” multi- touch capacitive color screen and dedicated hardware controls.
Speaking of controls, the MPC X features 66 buttons for direct, hardware access to all aspects of MPC Software 2.0 (see below) and 16 Touch-capacitive Q-Links controls with OLED display.
A Control Beast
MPC X’s plethora of connectivity options ensures rapid assimilation into any studio environment. A 2- in/4-out MIDI interface connects seamlessly to controllers and MIDI compatible sound modules, drum machines and synthesizers, providing core sequencing and control capability. Thanks to a arsenal of inputs and outputs (XLR, 1⁄4-inch jack, 1/8-inch jack & RCA), plus studio-grade audio capture, direct / hardware monitoring options and switchable phantom-power, MPC X forms the beating heard of any production setup.
Additional connectivity options include 8 CV/Gate outputs and a custom CV Program, configurable via MPC X’s radiant high-definition screen – the ultimate solution for control of modular gear and CV compatible synthesizers via MPC X’s premium hardware controls and unprecedented sequencing functionality.
Storage
If the original MPC60 had mere 750 kB of sampling memory (!!!), the new MPC X can count on 16GB of on-board storage (over 10GB of premium sound content included from leading sound designers including CR2, TOOLROOM, Loopmasters, Capsun Pro Audio, and more.
Also, it features a user-expandable 2.5” SATA drive connector (SSD or HDD), 2 USB-A 3.0 slots for thumb drives or MIDI controllers and am SD Card slot for loading samples and projects.
Welcome The MPC Software 2.0
Powering the mighty X is MPC Software 2.0, Akai Professional’s reimagined update of the critically acclaimed MPC software. Capable of running natively on the MPC X in standalone mode, MPC Software 2.0 can also be run from a Mac or PC as a plugin in all popular DAWs, or as a full-featured standalone application.
Price & Availability:
MPC X will ship with an MSRP of £1449.99 / $2,199.00 and will be available Q1 2017.
For more information, check out akaipro.com.
